The Track DNS feature in cPanel allows you to carry out a Trace Route. As the name suggests, a Trace Route traces the route data travels over the network from your computer to your web server.
The Trace Route displays the following information:
- The number of servers your data passes through before it reaches your server.
- The hostname, IP address, and time taken to reach each server.
A Trace Route can help diagnose any network issues relating to your hosting account. It can be helpful if your site does not load to enclose a copy when submitting support tickets.
Note: Some web hosts do not grant access to this feature.
How to carry out a Trace Route using cPanel
The Trace Route functionality is contained within the Track DNS feature. The tutorial below takes you through the process of using this feature to carry out the traceroute.
The first step is to log in to your cPanel admin area. Your web host will send you details on how to do this in your welcome email.
We’ve covered the different methods of logging in to cPanel here.
Under the Advanced Panel, click the Track DNS icon.
Under the Trace Route Heading, click the “Trace” button to carry out the trace.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to the three asterix mean in the trace route?
A traceroute uses ICMP messages to obtain details about the route being used for each hop. Each device responds to the ICMP request and displays details such as the hostname, IP, and response time.
If a router doesn’t generate a Time-to-live exceeded response, the traceroute will not know anything about that hop. A hop that outputs * * * means that the router is not responding to the type of packet you were using.
While this is not very helpful, it is quite normal.
Why does the trace route make a maximum of 30 hops?
This is the default setting for the cPanel traceroute client.
To increase the number of hops, you must use a command-line tool. For example, using the cPanel Terminal, you can set the maximum number of hops to 255 with the following command:
traceroute -m 255 xx.xx.xxx.xxxNote: Replace xx.xx.xxx.xxx with your server’s IP.
See the General Information Panel in cPanel for the IP.
Can I do a Trace Route without cPanel's Track DNS feature?
Yes, you can carry out a trace route via the command line on the cPanel terminal and your computer.
The following examples show how to carry out a traceroute, along with the command flag for increasing the number of hops:
cPanel Terminal
traceroute -m 255 xx.xx.xxx.xxxMacOS
traceroute -m 255 xx.xx.xxx.xxxWindows
tracert -h 255 xx.xx.xxx.xxxNote: Replace xx.xx.xxx.xxx with your server’s IP.
See the General Information Panel in cPanel for the IP.